The Holy Spirit – Part 2
How to be Led by the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 5:15-17 CEV Act like people with good sense and not like fools. (16) These are evil times, so make every minute count. (17) Don’t be stupid. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do.
Ephesians 5:17 NKJV Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
If the Lord through the Apostle Paul is telling us to understand what the will of God is, then it must be possible for us to know the will of God for our lives.
Colossians 1:9 NIV For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,
The will of God for us can be divided into two categories:
- The general will of God that is made known unto us by His Word.
- The specific will of God for our individual lives – where do we live, where do we work, who am I supposed to marry?
In the things that God has not given us direction for in His Word, He wants us to be led by His Spirit in our spirits.
Let’s establish two things in this:
- You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 NLT (23) Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
a. The spirit is made new at the New Birth.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
b. We must renew our minds or save our souls.
Romans 12:2 NLT Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
James 1:21 NLT So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
c. We present our bodies as a living sacrifice.
Romans 12:1 NLT And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.
1 Corinthians 9:27 NLT I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
- God lives in you.
1 John 4:15 NKJV Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
a. God will guide us, enlighten us, and lead us through our recreated human spirits.
Proverbs 20:27 NKJV The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
Your recreated spirit is a safe guide for you to follow, but how?
- God will lead you first and foremost through the inward witness.
Romans 8:16 NKJV The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
The Holy Spirit bears witness in our spirits that we are the children of God.
- You do not know that you are a child of God because someone prophesied that you are. You would not accept that.
- You do not know that you are a child of God because someone came up to you and said, “I just feel like you are.” You would not accept that.
- You do not know that you are a child of God because you have had a vision. You might or might not have had a vision but just because you have a vision does not make you a child of God.
a. His Spirit, God’s Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are His children.
There is a knowing that is right down on the inside of you.
If He will bear witness in our spirits about being Born Again, the most important decision that we could have possibly made, then surely, He will bear witness about all of the decisions in our lives.
Colossians 3:15 AMP And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].
God will lead you in this way as you pursue a “peaceful knowing” in your spirit.
He will also warn you of impending danger or harm in the same way.
Acts 27:9-11 NKJV Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, (10) saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” (11) Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul.
Paul had a knowing that the trip would not go well because the Spirit of God bore witness to that in his spirit.
- The second way that He will lead you is through the inward voice or the voice of your recreated human spirit.
Sometimes we call this our conscience.
We sometimes refer to this as the still, small voice of the Lord.
Let’s look at the working of our conscience.
a. The Holy Spirit does not convict us of sin. It is OUR SPIRIT that convicts us of sin in our lives.
1 John 3:20-21 NKJV For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. (21) Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.
1 John 3:20-21 GNB If our conscience condemns us, we know that God is greater than our conscience and that he knows everything. (21) And so, my dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have courage in God’s presence.
b. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin.
John 16:7-9 NKJV Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. (8) And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (9) of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
c. It is very important that we remain tenderhearted especially in the things of God.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 AMP BUT THE [Holy] Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach, (2) Through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared (cauterized),
Unless you keep a tender conscience, spiritual things will become indistinct to you.
Your conscience is the voice of your spirit and it is your conscience that will relate to your mind what the Spirit of God is saying to you in your heart.
- The third way that God will lead you is by the voice of the Holy Spirit.
This way is the more authoritative voice of the Holy Spirit versus the still small voice of your spirit.
Acts 10:19-21 NKJV While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you. (20) Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.” (21) Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?”
This can almost seem like it is audible but it is not. It is the Holy Spirit in your spirit speaking to you.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 AMP (21) But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast.
Always remember that the Bible teaches that the Spirit of God and the Word of God agree. Anytime that the Spirit of God speaks to you, it will always be in line with the Word.
1 John 5:7 NKJV For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
We are not to seek voices. We should not follow voices. WE SHOULD FOLLOW THE WORD OF GOD.
The three primary ways that God will lead the Born-Again believer are:
- The Inward Witness
- The Inward Voice or Voice of Your Spirit
- The Voice of the Holy Spirit
These are the ways to train your spirit or to grow spiritually:
- Meditate in the Word of God. (Joshua 1:8)
- Practice the Word of God. (James 1:22)
- Give the Word of God first place.
- Instantly obey the voice of your spirit (your conscience).
- Spend time praying in other tongues.